Alaska State Biologists are Screening Wildlife for Covid Scientists want to make sure a new variant of covid does not emerge in animals and then infect people.
Alaska Lost Workers After Covid-19 Alaska's number of job openings jumped in 2021. The state is struggling more than ever to recruit and retain workers, a report states.
Vaccination Rates Make Vulnerability Vary, Says Project Lead of Coronavirus Observatory Dr. Dwayne Ryan Menezes and Max Daniels from Polar Research and Policy Initiative are leading the project on tracking the Coronavirus in the Arctic and the Antarctic.
Strong Development in North Bothnia Despite the pandemic, Sweden saw the lowest bankruptcy figures in four years in 2021. The largest reduction in number of bankruptcies compared to the previous year was noted in North Bothnia County.
Norwegian Seafood Industry Fears A New Season Without Enough Workers, Wants Open-Border Guarantee from Government Infection is on the rise in Norway and Europe. Norwegian health authorities believe the Omicron variety will dominate infections after Christmas and have initiated new restrictions. Now, the seafood industry fears that it has to face a new season without enough season workers.
Alaska Doctors Seek COVID-19 Misinformation Investigation Alaska doctors plan to ask the State Medical Board to investigate concerns about the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and treatments by other physicians.
Første covid-smitte på Svalbard Svalbard har vært smittefri til nå, men nå meldes om flere tilfeller av covid-19 i Longyearbyen.
The Political Face of the Pandemic Commentary: While Norway is on the brink of re-opening society after the pandemic, as if the term “after the pandemic” makes sense, other countries barely manage to count their dead. The overview over the number of deaths is not only a medical encyclopedia.
Fear Hospital System Collapse in Anchorage Emergency room doctors in Anchorage sounded dire warnings about the city’s hospital capacity at a medical update to the Anchorage Assembly on Friday .
Covid-19: Fourth Covid Wave Hits Iceland Most of those infected upon vaccination were in the Janssen vaccine group.
Optimism for the Norwegian Seafood Industry “The season started hard and with lots of insecurity, however, from April onwards the situation improved. Towards the end of the season, there was a very high demand for white fish products”, says CEO Rita Karlsen of Brødrene Karlsen fish company to High North News.
New Covid-19 Border Testing Regulations in Iceland From 16 August onwards, vaccinated passengers with ties to Iceland must undergo testing within 48 hours of arrival in Iceland.
COVID-19 in Canada: Started Vaccinating Youth Nunavut, Canada, has begun vaccinating youth between the ages of 12 and 17.
Corona Strikes Armed Forces in Bodø Bodø municipality and the Armed Forces have initiated a joint effort to contain a Covid-19 outbreak in a local military camp. The Norwegian Joint Headquarters, located just outside Bodø, says they are limiting activities where possible; however, operational activities are not affected.
Alaska Records 10 Cases of California Corona Virus Mutant Scientists in Alaska have discovered 10 cases of a new strain of the Corona virus, first found in California.
Canadian Community Declares State of Emergency The Canadian hamlet Arviat has seen 86 cases of COVID-19 since 22 January.
Alaska Loses State COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Alaska has become one of two states in the United States without a formal COVID-19 public health disaster declaration and the only state without any disaster-related provisions.
COVID-19 in Alaska: One Death and 116 Infection Cases Registered Tuesday On Tuesday, 116 new infeciton cases and one death related to the Corona virus were reported in Alaska, according to the state’s Institute of Health and Social Services.
Covid-19 Outbreak at Alaska’s Biggest Seafood Processing Plant The facility, located at Akutan in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, is the biggest processing plant for seafood in entire North America. More than 700 workers are quarantined, and the nearest hospital is hundreds of miles away.
Island har stanset britisk coronavariant ved grensen Island har så langt greit å demme opp for den svært smittsomme britiske varianten av coronaviruset. Det har de klart med systematisk testing på grensen, forebyggende karantene for besøkende og full kartlegging av alle smittetilfeller i landet.
Iceland Halts U.K. Covid Variant at the Border Iceland has so far managed to contain the highly contagious British variant of the Corona virus with systematic border testing, preemptive quarantines for visitors and full sequencing of Covid-19 cases detected in the country.
Alaska Has the Highest Covid-19 Vaccination Rate of All 50 States According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Alaska now has the most Covid-19 vaccinations per capita of all the states in the USA.
Alaska Schools Welcome Students Back to Classrooms Schools in Alaska has been closed for 10 months due to the pandemic. Finally the first phase of students are returning to classrooms.
Vaccines Will Be Widely Available by Summer in Alaska, Says Chief Medical Officer "By spring equinox vaccines are going to be coming in fast. By summer solstice there are going to be plenty of vaccines available. I think, by then, those who want to be vaccinated will be able to get one", says Anne Zink, Chief Medical Officer for Alaska.
Covid-19 in Alaska: 239 New Cases Registered Sunday Authorities in Alaska registered 239 new cases of Covid-19 infections on Sunday. No new deaths were reported.
Alaska is Preparing to Deliver First COVID-19 Vaccine Pfizer’s 35,100 doses of COVID-19 vaccine will arrive Alaska, in shipping containers on cargo and commercial flights as soon as next week.
COVID-19 in the Arctic: Nunavut wrangles with the virus for the first time Canada’s largest territory has eased lockdown protocol in most of its communities after COVID-19 arrived in the region in early November.
Covid-19 cases in Alaska: New daily record this week Covid-19 cases increases in Alaska. This week, Alaska reported a new daily record of 763 cases.
Nunavut Goes Into Lockdown as Covid-19 Hits On Monday, Nunavut in Canada goes into a lockdown for two weeks to stop Covid-19 from spreading further. This is the first outbreak of Covid-19 in the community.
Alaska Oil and Gas Jobs Hit Hard During the Pandemic During the Covid-19 pandemic, Alaska has lost more than 3,000 oil and gas jobs. With the currently low oil price, it is unclear when these jobs may return.
Covid-19 in the Arctic: “It has Pretty Much Decimated the Industry” Nearly one in four businesses in Nunavut's tourist industry experienced a decrease of more than 50 percent in sales revenue in the first three months of 2020, compared to the same period in 2019. They expect it to become much worse.
International MOSAiC Arctic Expedition Reaches North Pole The MOSAiC expedition completes another milestone as thePolarsternicebreaker reaches the North Pole. The project now enters its final stage: finding a new ice floe and studying the refreezing of the Arctic Ocean in the Fall.
Unemployment rate in Alaska remains high as tourism takes hit from Covid-19 The state of Alaska sees almost 38,000 fewer jobs in June 2020 compared to same period last year. The leisure and hospitality industries experienced the biggest loss as Covid-19 crisis halts tourism season.
Infection Onboard 'MS Roald Amundsen': “No Entering at Svalbard Settlements” “Neither passengers nor crew have come onshore in Longyearbyen, Barentsburg or Ny-Ålesund during the two cruises in our waters in July”, says Visit Svalbard Manager Ronny Brunvoll.
Novatek Arctic LNG 2 Project Remains on Schedule Despite Impact Of Covid-19 Novatek announces that construction of its latest Arctic natural gas project progresses as planned for an opening in 2022. An outbreak of Covid-19 at its construction site now appears contained.
Restrictions on travel and tourism to be further lifted in Finland Permanent Secretary Martti Hetemäki of the Finnish Ministry of Finance lifts travel restrictions for Norway, Denmark, Iceland and the Baltic countries. Sweden did not make the cut.
«No Restrictions on Returning to Svalbard Once Business Resumes» Svalbard Hotel Manager Stein-Ove Johannessen says foreign staff are positive to the government-proposed scheme for their going home, given that they are not excluded from returning. According to the Ministry of Justice, there are no restrictions for non-EU/EEA citizens who wish to return at a later stage.
Data centers as critical infrastructure in the Arctic While the role of networks and teleoperators is rather visible, data centers that constitute a backbone of Internet infrastructure are often not mentioned in the coverage of the crisis. Assistant Professor at Oulu University, Alexandra Middleton and Internet Infrastructure Expert at Digital Footprint AS, Bjørn Rønning examines why connectivity in the Arctic is so important.
MOSAiC Expedition Relief Ships Arrive In Svalbard, Awaiting Arrival of Polarstern The MOSAiC Arctic Expedition continues to overcome logistical challenges as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Two research vessels,RV SonneandRV Maria S. Merian, carrying supplies and new crew and scientists arrived near Svalbard this weekend and will meet up with theRV Polarsternduring the last week of May.
Norway’s Hurtigruten Draws Up Plans to Reopen Coastal Routes Norway’s Hurtigruten is planning to resume service between Bergen and Kirkenes on June 16th with Arctic expeditions in Norwegian waters following during the summer. Cruises in other regions, including Alaska and the Northwest Passage, have been cancelled for 2020.
Wants to Lift Quarantine in Svalbard: “No Point in Waiting” Tourism companies in Svalbard are in despair over massive losses and request a date for reopening for tourists, just like the rest of Norway. “There is no longer any reason to maintain the quarantine”, says Svalbard’s Infection Control Chief Medical.
Many Canadian Arctic communities are vulnerable to the social impacts of Covid-19 crisis For many communities across the vast Canadian Arctic, the social impacts of the Covid-19 crisis comes atop existing problems. Dr. Pertice Moffitt, manager and instructor at Aurora College in Yellowknife, tells High North News that the ability for children and women at risk to flee situations of domestic violence, and then to social distance or isolate, will be challenged.
Update on Corona in the Arctic: 54 new cases in Russia High North News provides daily updates on the spreading of the coronavirus in the Arctic. In Russia, 54 new cases of infection were reported in the last 24 hours. The first death due to coronavirus has been confirmed in Moscow.
